Mexico's Position Paper - Sonic.net

Mexico's Position Paper -

4/1/04 page 1 Mexico Mexican is proud to be considered a modern developing nation of 103 million people with ancient Mayan and Aztec roots. We gained our independence from Spain in 1810. We had to fight for our freedom again when France attempted to make us their colony. By 1821, we had established ourselves as a free and independent nation. Our last wars were territorial wars, in 1848, with the United States. We are proud of the fact that we have remained neutral and free of war with others for over 150 years. Yet, to leave behind the feudal ways and learn the true meaning of democracy and respect for all has been an ongoing experience in our nation. We are a nation of contrasts. We are the 6 th largest global oil producer and have the second largest GDP and per capita GDP in the Central and South American regions. We have achieved a 90% literacy rate, in spite of the internal battles we associated with poverty, health care child labor. Our citizens have an average life expectancy of 72.5 years, yet our women did not gained the right to vote until 1946. The blending of the traditional and the modern values give us cause for constant reflection and have always encouraged internal revolution and discussion. We are proud of our recent steps in becoming active members of our global society. Child labor Child labor is an issue in Mexico. We have laws that prohibit child labor below age of 15, but it is hard for us to enforce it. In our nation, 8 out of 10 people begin working before 10-14 years. In the year of 2000 1,022,859 children between of 10- 14 were working, and 4,463,952 children between 15-19 were working. About 28% of child laborers work in northern Mexico, where they are engaged in agricultural work. There are 115,000 children working in the streets, markets, tourist and other areas of 108 cities in Mexico. 70% are boys and 30% girls, and around 60% of them are found in just 20 cities. Some 20% of the children survive by begging, 24% by selling goods, and others by doing subcontracting work. We are trying to stop child labor so kids could go to school. International Finance Our economy is improving because it is coming out of debt. We are a just developing the economy. Since 1980, our debt is going down. We are resaving dollars from the people who work in the United States and send money back home. During the 1990’s, we made a rule of putting the price of the oil higher. And use the money to pay some of the debts. We also need to keep a balance economy so that they can pay the debt. They also need to pay attention in what things they spend money. Mexico also needs to export more products to another countries. This will increase the jobs, and more productions. We are trying to make more deals with other countries so that we can grow as a powerful nation. NAFTA is an example of a free trade agreement that has been good for us. International Trade Significant oil discoveries made in the ‘70s turned us from net import into a significant exporter of oil and petroleum products. Our people that did not sell oil or

Mexico is a competitive destination for mining investment. An industry with a century-old tradition, mining remains one of the leading sources of income, employment and development in the country. But beyond the mineral wealth required to develop this activity, conditions in Mexico have made it one of the main destinations in the world for mining investment, surpassing countries that are richer
in mineral resources.